Advice on pool maintenance

[Tracyteague]

Hello... new to this pool care thing, been reading as much as possible on this site, super helpful but have a couple of questions ...
current test results as if this morning :
FC 6
CC .5
pH. 8.2
TA 150
CH. 350
CYA. 70

I know I need to bring my pH down but just want to make sure muriatic acid is ok for my pool? Also I live in Phoenix, Az pool is in sun all day, usually run pump 6-7 hours a day but noticing chlorine level isn’t keeping up. Added liquid chlorine last night to bring level up. Any suggestions for maintenance would be appreciated

 

[zea3]

Hi, welcome to TFP! Muriatic acid is ok for your pool. How does your water look?

 

[JimMarshall]

How big is your SWG and what is it set on?

Muriatic acid is fine for your pool, but with a reading of 8.2, it may be much higher than that. Use PoolMath to target 7.4, add MA as specified, wait 1/2 hour, and retest to see the result. If your PH was much higher than 8.2 to start you may need to repeat to get it to the desired level. With your TA level, pH will likely continue to creep up and you will have to bring it back down with the acid. This will begin to bring your TA in check as well. If you want to speed the process up, you can aerate your water to bring the pH up quicker

 

[Tracyteague]

Hi, welcome to TFP! Muriatic acid is ok for your pool. How does your water look?

My water is clear...

- - - Updated - - -

I’m not sure how to know how big my SWG is?? It’s a Intex sand filter pump and saltwater system with E.C.O Model #ECO20110-1... not sure if that helps you any? As far as what it’s set on I have no clue there is no way for me to adjust percentage just hours it runs.. I have a “boost” option that I’m assuming runs it at 100% but not certain on that either.

 

[zea3]

Your system puts out 11 grams of chlorine per hour. For a 6 hour run time that converts to 3 ounces of chlorine gas, which increases your FC by 2.6 ppm. Since you cannot increase the percentage of chlorine produced, the only way for the SWG is create more chlorine is to run the system longer. Have you tried running an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to make sure there is nothing else depleting your chlorine?

 

[Tracyteague]

Your system puts out 11 grams of chlorine per hour. For a 6 hour run time that converts to 3 ounces of chlorine gas, which increases your FC by 2.6 ppm. Since you cannot increase the percentage of chlorine produced, the only way for the SWG is create more chlorine is to run the system longer. Have you tried running an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to make sure there is nothing else depleting your chlorine?

No I have not done this yet but I will do that tonight ... thank you for all the help!!

 

[zea3]

You are welcome!

 

[Tracyteague]

On the overnight loss article it says use FAS-DPD test .. what is this?

 

[MrBfromNC]

The TF-100 test kit is a FAS-DPD test. I think the FAS (ferrous ammonium sulphate) is the reagent to test for Free Chlorine.

 

[getreal720]

Adding 2.5 ppm chlorine to your pool is "probably" good enough given the chemistry is right in a sense that your not losing more than the 2-4 ppm daily.

If your losing more than 2.5 ppm daily, then your either going to have to supplement the SWG with bleach or run the pump longer. The other option is to get
a higher capacity SWG so that it will put out more FC in that same 8 hours.

 

[Tracyteague]

Ok so... I’ve added the muriatic acid recommended by poolmath and pH is now 7.2 but my TA is still 120.. TA has dropped some from original test this morning but do I need to still be concerned about the TA? I don’t want to drop the pH too low...

 

[JimMarshall]

Ok so... I’ve added the muriatic acid recommended by poolmath and pH is now 7.2 but my TA is still 120.. TA has dropped some from original test this morning but do I need to still be concerned about the TA? I don’t want to drop the pH too low...

Tracy,

The high TA is of no concern, other than it will cause your pH to rise faster. You do not need to be concerned about the TA. It will continue to come down as you monitor your pH rise and adjust it down and eventually the TA will get to a level that your pool "likes" and your pH rise will slow.

 

[Tracyteague]

Tracy,

The high TA is of no concern, other than it will cause your pH to rise faster. You do not need to be concerned about the TA. It will continue to come down as you monitor your pH rise and adjust it down and eventually the TA will get to a level that your pool "likes" and your pH rise will slow.

Oh good!!! Thanks for helping with this ..